Nobody's Ass
Art Lester
A Story About Freedom
In the mountain jungle of a Latin American country,
where poverty and a history of oppression has blighted
the landscape, Luis, a charcoal burner, terrorises the
village of Rio Lejos. His cruelty and sudden violence
is legendary, so when Hector, the shopkeeper, sees him
coming, there is nothing for it but to caress his machete
beneath the counter. Realising that not being beaten
is a kind of victory on its own, he is forced to part
with a parrot whose skill at imitating human speech
is legendary.
The parrot is no ordinary bird, having spent many years
learning the language of mankind and bitterly satirising
them at every opportunity. But now, having fallen into
the hands of the cruellest Man of them all, he needs
to escape. The humans have, as always, clipped one of
his wings so that he cannot fly. The plan is simple:
he must threaten, bribe or cajole the weather-beaten
donkey of his new owner into an unlikely flight through
the danger of cities and the jaguar-ridden jungles to
a place he remembers from his childhood, a valley where
there are no Men.
The donkey, true to his race, is not easy to control.
In matters of a problematic nature, he prefers the comfort
of a kind of dream, in which he is neither awake nor
asleep. Beaten and ill-used throughout his life, he
has no illusions about magical rescues. The journey
they begin together is full of obstacles and dangers.
As they travel, they enter the lives of people, whose
lives are as bitter as their own, and whose slavery
seems to have no remedy. But when the two fugitives
enter the scene, their lives are transformed forever.
Who could imagine that a pair of animal pilgrims could
awaken people to their own need for freedom? And who
could know that the things most feared often turn out
to be the blessing you long for without being aware
of it?
Nobody’s Ass asks the question,
“What is freedom?” and then sets out on
the journey that permits it to be found…
Reviewers’
Comments
Nobody’s
Ass (Xlibris, 2003):
"
...convincing and entertaining...many deep
insights and messages about life...highly recommended."
El Sun, Spain
"
...brilliantly conceived, with an appeal to
a wide range of ages...not for one moment does it fail
to absorb the reader..."
Keith
Gilley, The Inquirer
Read
Chapter 1 of "Nobody's Ass"
